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2009 NCAA Division I FBS football season

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2009 NCAA Division I FBS season
Alabama v. Tennessee
Number of teams120[n 1]
DurationSeptember 3 – December 12
Preseason AP No. 1Florida
Postseason
DurationDecember 19, 2009 –
January 7, 2010
Bowl games34
Heisman TrophyMark Ingram II (running back, Alabama)
Bowl Championship Series
2010 BCS Championship Game
SiteRose Bowl Stadium
Pasadena, California
Champion(s)Alabama
NCAA Division I FBS football seasons
← 2008
2010 →

The 2009 NCAA Division I FBS football season was the highest level of college football competition in the United States organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA).

The regular season began on September 3, 2009, and ended on December 12, 2009. The postseason concluded on January 7, 2010, with the BCS National Championship Game in Pasadena, California, where the Alabama Crimson Tide defeated the Texas Longhorns by the score of 37–21.

For the first time in the history of the Heisman Trophy, the annual award for the most outstanding player in college football, two previous Heisman winners played in the same season—2008 winner Sam Bradford of Oklahoma and 2007 winner Tim Tebow of Florida.[1] For the first time since 1946, the top three vote-getters from the previous season all returned: Bradford, Colt McCoy of Texas, and Tebow, in that order.[2] Six teams finished the regular season undefeated; a record for the BCS era.

Rule changes

[edit]

The NCAA football rules committee proposed several rule changes for 2009. The rule changes include:[3]

  • If the home team wears colored jerseys, the visiting team may also wear colored jerseys so long as the two teams have agreed to do so. This rule comes as a result of the traditional USC–UCLA game where both teams wore their home uniforms. Previously, the visiting team would be charged a first-half timeout for illegal equipment.[4]
  • If the punter carries the ball outside of the tackle box, he is no longer protected under the roughing the kicker penalty.
  • Deliberately grabbing the chin strap is now included as part of the face mask penalty.
  • The edge of the tackle box is defined as being five yards to the left and right of the snapper, rather than two parallel lines from the position of the offensive tackles.
  • Periods will not be extended for plays that result in loss of down (i.e. illegal forward pass).
  • If a defensive player is injured, the play clock will be reset to 40 seconds. The play clock will be reset to 25 seconds for an injury to an offensive player.

Conference changes

[edit]

Western Kentucky joined the Sun Belt Conference after playing the 2008 as an FBS independent, completing their two-year transition from the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS). The number of full FBS members increased to 120.

School Former conference New conference
Western Kentucky Hilltoppers FBS independent Sun Belt

New and updated stadiums

[edit]

Regular season top 10 matchups

[edit]

Rankings reflect the AP Poll. Rankings for Week 8 and beyond will list BCS Rankings first and AP Poll second. Teams that failed to be a top 10 team for one poll or the other will be noted.

Conference standings

[edit]
2009 Atlantic Coast Conference football standings
Conf. Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
Atlantic Division
No. 24 Clemson x   6 2     9 5  
Boston College   5 3     8 5  
Florida State   4 4     7 6  
Wake Forest   3 5     5 7  
NC State   2 6     5 7  
Maryland   1 7     2 10  
Coastal Division
No. 13 Georgia Tech * x$   7 1     11 3  
No. 10 Virginia Tech   6 2     10 3  
No. 19 Miami (FL)   5 3     9 4  
North Carolina *   0 4     0 5  
Duke   3 5     5 7  
Virginia   2 6     3 9  
Championship: Georgia Tech 39, Clemson 34
  • $ – BCS representative as conference champion
  • North Carolina vacated 8 wins, including 4 ACC wins.
Rankings from AP Poll
2009 Big 12 Conference football standings
Conf. Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
North Division
No. 14 Nebraska x   6 2     10 4  
Missouri   4 4     8 5  
Kansas State   4 4     6 6  
Iowa State   3 5     7 6  
Colorado   2 6     3 9  
Kansas   1 7     5 7  
South Division
No. 2 Texas x$   8 0     13 1  
Oklahoma State   6 2     9 4  
No. 21 Texas Tech   5 3     9 4  
Oklahoma   5 3     8 5  
Texas A&M   3 5     6 7  
Baylor   1 7     4 8  
Championship: Texas 13, Nebraska 12
  • $ – BCS representative as conference champion
  • x – Division champion/co-champions
Rankings from AP Poll
2009 Big East Conference football standings
Conf. Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
No. 8 Cincinnati $   7 0     12 1  
No. 25 West Virginia   5 2     9 4  
No. 15 Pittsburgh   5 2     10 3  
Rutgers   3 4     9 4  
Connecticut   3 4     8 5  
South Florida   3 4     8 5  
Louisville   1 6     4 8  
Syracuse   1 6     4 8  
  • $ – BCS representative as conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll
2009 Big Ten Conference football standings
Conf. Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
No. 5 Ohio State $   7 1     11 2  
No. 7 Iowa %   6 2     11 2  
No. 9 Penn State   6 2     11 2  
Northwestern   5 3     8 5  
No. 16 Wisconsin   5 3     10 3  
Michigan State   4 4     6 7  
Purdue   4 4     5 7  
Minnesota   3 5     6 7  
Illinois   2 6     3 9  
Michigan   1 7     5 7  
Indiana   1 7     4 8  
  • $ – BCS representative as conference champion
  • % – BCS at-large representative
Rankings from AP Poll
2009 Conference USA football standings
Conf. Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
East Division
East Carolina x$   7 1     9 5  
UCF   6 2     8 5  
Southern Miss   5 3     7 6  
Marshall   4 4     7 6  
UAB   4 4     5 7  
Memphis   1 7     2 10  
West Division
Houston xy   6 2     10 4  
SMU x   6 2     8 5  
Tulsa   3 5     5 7  
UTEP   3 5     4 8  
Rice   2 6     2 10  
Tulane   1 7     3 9  
Championship: East Carolina 38, Houston 32
  • $ – Conference champion
  • x – Division champion/co-champions
  • y – Championship game participant
Rankings from AP Poll
2009 Mid-American Conference football standings
Conf. Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
East Division
Ohio xy   7 1     9 5  
Temple x   7 1     9 4  
Bowling Green   6 2     7 6  
Kent State   4 4     5 7  
Buffalo   3 5     5 7  
Akron   2 6     3 9  
Miami (OH)   1 7     1 11  
West Division
No. 23 Central Michigan x$   8 0     12 2  
Northern Illinois   5 3     7 6  
Western Michigan   4 4     5 7  
Toledo   3 5     5 7  
Ball State   2 6     2 10  
Eastern Michigan   0 8     0 12  
Championship: Central Michigan 20, Ohio 10
  • $ – Conference champion
  • x – Division champion/co-champions
  • y – Championship game participant
Rankings from AP Poll
2009 Mountain West Conference football standings
Conf. Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
No. 6 TCU $   8 0     12 1  
No. 12 BYU   7 1     11 2  
No. 18 Utah   6 2     10 3  
Air Force   5 3     8 5  
Wyoming   4 4     7 6  
UNLV   3 5     5 7  
San Diego State   2 6     4 8  
New Mexico   1 7     1 11  
Colorado State   0 8     3 9  
  • $ – Conference champion and BCS representative as top non-AQ school to meet automatic qualification criteria
Rankings from AP Poll
2009 Pacific-10 Conference football standings
Conf. Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
No. 11 Oregon $   8 1     10 3  
Arizona   6 3     8 5  
Oregon State   6 3     8 5  
Stanford   6 3     8 5  
No. 22 USC   5 4     9 4  
California   5 4     8 5  
Washington   4 5     5 7  
UCLA   3 6     7 6  
Arizona State   2 7     4 8  
Washington State   0 9     1 11  
  • $ – BCS representative as conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll
2009 Southeastern Conference football standings
Conf. Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
Eastern Division
No. 3 Florida x%   8 0     13 1  
Georgia   4 4     8 5  
Tennessee   4 4     7 6  
Kentucky   3 5     7 6  
South Carolina   3 5     7 6  
Vanderbilt   0 8     2 10  
Western Division
No. 1 Alabama x$#   8 0     14 0  
No. 17 LSU   5 3     9 4  
No. 20 Ole Miss   4 4     9 4  
Arkansas   3 5     8 5  
Auburn   3 5     8 5  
Mississippi State   3 5     5 7  
Championship: Alabama 32, Florida 13
  • # – BCS National Champion
  • $ – BCS representative as conference champion
  • % – BCS at-large representative
  • x – Division champion/co-champions
Rankings from AP Poll
2009 Sun Belt Conference football standings
Conf. Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
Troy $   8 0     9 4  
Middle Tennessee   7 1     10 3  
Louisiana–Monroe   5 3     6 6  
Florida Atlantic   5 3     5 7  
Louisiana–Lafayette   4 4     6 6  
Arkansas State   3 5     4 8  
FIU   3 5     3 9  
North Texas   1 7     2 10  
Western Kentucky   0 8     0 12  
  • $ – Conference champion
2009 Western Athletic Conference football standings
Conf. Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
No. 4 Boise State $%   8 0     14 0  
Nevada   7 1     8 5  
Fresno State   6 2     8 5  
Idaho   4 4     8 5  
Hawaii   3 5     6 7  
Louisiana Tech   3 5     4 8  
Utah State   3 5     4 8  
New Mexico State   1 7     3 10  
San Jose State   1 7     2 10  
  • % – BCS at-large representative
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll
2009 NCAA Division I FBS independents football records
Conf. Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
Navy       10 4  
Notre Dame       6 6  
Army       5 7  
Rankings from AP Poll

FCS team wins over FBS teams

[edit]

Italics denotes FCS teams.

Date Visiting team Home team Site Result Attendance Ref.
September 3 No. 5 (FCSVillanova Temple Lincoln Financial FieldPhiladelphia, Pennsylvania (Mayor's Cup)  27–24   27,759 [6]
September 5 No. 2 (FCSRichmond Duke Wallace Wade StadiumDurham, North Carolina  24–16   33,311 [6]
September 5 No. 14 (FCSWilliam & Mary Virginia Scott StadiumCharlottesville, Virginia  26–14   54,587 [6]
September 12 No. 9 (FCSNew Hampshire Ball State Scheumann StadiumMuncie, Indiana  23–16   11,884 [6]
September 19 No. 13 (FCSCentral Arkansas Western Kentucky Houchens Industries–L. T. Smith StadiumBowling Green, Kentucky  28–7   17,295 [6]
#Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game.

Conference summaries

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Rankings reflect the Week 14 AP Poll before the conference championship games were played.

Conference championship games
Conference Champion Runner-Up Score Offensive Player of the Year Defensive Player of the Year
ACC No. 12 Georgia Tech* (vacated) No. 25 Clemson 39–34 C. J. Spiller, RB, Clemson Derrick Morgan, DE, Georgia Tech
Big 12 No. 3 Texas No. 21 Nebraska 13–12 Colt McCoy, QB, Texas Ndamukong Suh, DT, Nebraska
C-USA East Carolina No. 18 Houston 38–32 Case Keenum, QB, Houston (C-USA MVP)
Joe Webb, QB, UAB (OPOY)
Bruce Miller, DE, Central Florida
MAC Central Michigan Ohio 20–10 Dan LeFevour, QB, Central Michigan Adrian Robinson, DE, Temple
SEC No. 2 Alabama No. 1 Florida 32–13 Mark Ingram II, RB, Alabama Rolando McClain, LB, Alabama
Other conference champions
Conference Champion Record Offensive Player of the Year Defensive Player of the Year
Big East No. 5 Cincinnati 12–0 (7–0) Dion Lewis, RB, Pittsburgh Greg Romeus, DE, Pittsburgh
Mick Williams, DT, Pittsburgh
Big Ten No. 8 Ohio State 10–2 (7–1) John Clay, RB, Wisconsin Jared Odrick, DT, Penn State
Greg Jones, LB, Michigan State
Mountain West No. 4 TCU 12–0 (8–0) Andy Dalton, QB, TCU Jerry Hughes, DE, TCU
Pac-10 No. 7 Oregon 10–2 (8–1) Toby Gerhart, RB, Stanford Brian Price, DT, UCLA
Sun Belt Troy 9–3 (8–0) Levi Brown, QB, Troy Cardia Jackson, LB, Louisiana-Monroe
Chris McCoy, DE, Middle Tennessee
WAC No. 6 Boise State 13–0 (8–0) Kellen Moore, QB, Boise State Dontay Moch, LB, Nevada

For the first time since 1983, every conference in Division I FBS, even those that did not contest a championship game, had an undisputed champion.

* In July 2011, the NCAA released its findings from a two-year investigation into allegations that a Georgia Tech player received $321 in clothing from a runner for an agent. While no conclusive evidence was brought against the player, actions taken by the Georgia Tech athletic department were perceived as an attempt to hinder the NCAA investigation into this offense. The NCAA determined that the player should have been declared ineligible for the final three games of the 2009 season. As punishment for an accused "lack of cooperation" and hindering the investigation, Georgia Tech was required to vacate the ACC Championship Game win, along with other penalties. Consequently, there is currently no official 2009 ACC football champion.[7]

Bowl games

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[8]

Non-BCS Bowls
Date Game Site Teams Winner
Dec 19[9] New Mexico Bowl University Stadium
University of New Mexico
Albuquerque, New Mexico
Wyoming (6–6, 4–4 MWC)
Fresno State (8–4, 6–2 WAC)
Wyoming 3528 (2 OT)
St. Petersburg Bowl presented by Beef 'O' Brady's Tropicana Field
St. Petersburg, Florida
Rutgers (8–4, 3–4 Big East)
UCF (8–4, 6–2 C-USA)
Rutgers 45–24
Dec 20[10] R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl Louisiana Superdome
New Orleans
Middle Tennessee (9–3, 7–1 Sun Belt)
Southern Miss (7–5, 5–3 C-USA)
Middle Tennessee 42–32
Dec 22[11] Maaco Bowl Las Vegas Sam Boyd Stadium
University of Nevada, Las Vegas
Las Vegas
No. 14 BYU (10–2, 7–1 MWC)
No. 18 Oregon State (8–4, 6–3 Pac-10)
BYU 44–20
Dec 23 SDCCU Poinsettia Bowl Qualcomm Stadium
San Diego
No. 23 Utah (9–3, 6–2 MWC)
California (8–4, 5–4 Pac-10)
Utah 37–27
Dec 24 Sheraton Hawaiʻi Bowl Aloha Stadium
Honolulu, HI
SMU (7–5, 6–2 C-USA)
Nevada (8–4, 7–1 WAC)
SMU 45–10
Dec 26[12][13][14] Little Caesars Pizza Bowl Ford Field
Detroit
Marshall (6–6, 4–4 C-USA)
Ohio (9–4, 7–1 MAC)
Marshall 26–17
Meineke Car Care Bowl Bank of America Stadium
Charlotte, North Carolina
No. 17 Pittsburgh (9–3, 5–2 Big East)
North Carolina (8–4, 4–4 ACC)
Pittsburgh 19–17
Emerald Bowl AT&T Park
San Francisco
No. 24 USC (8–4, 5–4 Pac-10)
Boston College (8–4, 5–3 ACC)
USC 24–13
Dec 27[15] Gaylord Hotels Music City Bowl LP Field
Nashville, Tennessee
Clemson (8–5, 6–2 ACC)
Kentucky (7–5, 3–5 SEC)
Clemson 21–13
Dec 28[16] Advocare V100 Independence Bowl Independence Stadium
Shreveport, Louisiana
Georgia (7–5, 4–4 SEC)
Texas A&M (6–6, 3–5 Big 12)
Georgia 44–20
Dec 29[17] EagleBank Bowl RFK Stadium
Washington, D.C.
UCLA (6–6, 3–6 Pac-10)
Temple (9–3, 7–1 MAC)
UCLA 30–21
Champs Sports Bowl Citrus Bowl
Orlando, Florida
No. 25 Wisconsin (9–3, 5–3 Big Ten)
No. 15 Miami (9–3, 5–3 ACC)
Wisconsin 20–14
Dec 30[18] Roady's Humanitarian Bowl Bronco Stadium
Boise State University
Boise, Idaho
Idaho (7–5, 4–4 WAC)
Bowling Green (7–5, 6–2 MAC)
Idaho 43–42
Pacific Life Holiday Bowl Qualcomm Stadium
San Diego
No. 22 Nebraska (9–4, 6–3 Big 12)
No. 20 Arizona (8–4, 6–3 Pac-10)
Nebraska 33–0
Dec 31[19] Bell Helicopters Armed Forces Bowl Amon G. Carter Stadium
Texas Christian University
Fort Worth, Texas
Air Force (7–5, 5–3 MWC)
Houston (10–3, 6–2 C–USA)
Air Force 47–20
Brut Sun Bowl Sun Bowl Stadium
University of Texas at El Paso
El Paso, Texas
Oklahoma (7–5, 5–3 Big 12)
No. 21 Stanford (8–4, 6–3 Pac-10)
Oklahoma 31–27
Texas Bowl Reliant Stadium
Houston
Navy (9–4)[N 1]
Missouri 13 (8–4, 4–4 Big 12)[20]
Navy 35–13
Insight Bowl Sun Devil Stadium
Arizona State University
Tempe, Arizona
Iowa State (6–6, 3–5 Big 12)
Minnesota (6–6, 3–5 Big Ten)
Iowa State 14–13
Chick-fil-A Bowl Georgia Dome
Atlanta
No. 11 Virginia Tech (9–3, 6–2 ACC)
Tennessee (7–5, 4–4 SEC)
Virginia Tech 37–14
Jan 1[21] Outback Bowl Raymond James Stadium
Tampa, Florida
Auburn (7–5, 3–5 SEC)
Northwestern (8–4, 5–3 Big Ten)
Auburn 38–35 (OT)
Konica Minolta Gator Bowl Jacksonville Municipal Stadium
Jacksonville, Florida
Florida State (6–6, 4–4 ACC)
No. 16 West Virginia (9–3, 5–2 Big East)
Florida State 33–21
Capital One Bowl Citrus Bowl
Orlando, Florida
No. 13 Penn State (10–2, 6–2 Big Ten)
No. 12 LSU[22] (9–3, 5–3 SEC)
Penn State 19–17
Jan 2 International Bowl Rogers Centre
Toronto, Canada
South Florida (7–5, 3–4 Big East)
Northern Illinois (7–5, 5–3 MAC)
South Florida 27–3
Papajohns.com Bowl Legion Field
Birmingham, Alabama
Connecticut (7–5, 3–4 Big East)
South Carolina (7–5, 3–5 SEC)
Connecticut 20–7
AT&T Cotton Bowl Classic Cowboys Stadium
Arlington, Texas
Ole Miss (8–4, 4–4 SEC)
No. 19 Oklahoma State (9–3, 6–2 Big 12)
Ole Miss 21–7
AutoZone Liberty Bowl Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium
Memphis, Tennessee
Arkansas (7–5, 3–5 SEC)
East Carolina (9–4, 7–1 C–USA)
Arkansas 20–17 (OT)
Valero Energy Alamo Bowl Alamodome
San Antonio
Texas Tech (8–4, 5–3 Big 12)
Michigan State (6–6, 4–4 Big Ten)
Texas Tech 41–31
Jan 6 GMAC Bowl Ladd–Peebles Stadium
Mobile, Alabama
Central Michigan (11–2, 8–0 MAC)
Troy (9–3, 8–0 Sun Belt)
Central Michigan 44–41 (2OT)
Bowl Championship Series
Date Game Site Teams Winner
Jan 1 Rose Bowl Game presented by Citi Rose Bowl Stadium
Pasadena, California
No. 8 Ohio State (10–2, 7–1 Big Ten)
No. 7 Oregon (10–2, 8–1 Pac-10)
Ohio State 26–17
Allstate Sugar Bowl Louisiana Superdome
New Orleans
No. 5 Florida (12–1, 8–0 SEC)
No. 3 Cincinnati (12–0, 7–0 Big East)
Florida 51–24
Jan 4 Tostitos Fiesta Bowl University of Phoenix Stadium
Glendale, Arizona
No. 6 Boise State (13–0, 8–0 WAC)
No. 4 TCU (12–0, 8–0 MWC)
Boise State 17–10
Jan 5 FedEx Orange Bowl Land Shark Stadium
Miami Gardens, Florida
No. 10 Iowa (10–2, 6–2 Big Ten)
No. 9 Georgia Tech (11–2, 7–1 ACC)
Iowa 24–14
Jan 7 2010 Citi BCS National Championship Game Rose Bowl Stadium
Pasadena, California
No. 1 Alabama (13–0, 8–0 SEC)
No. 2 Texas (13–0, 8–0 Big 12)
Alabama 37–21
  1. ^ Navy won seven games to be bowl-eligible, as they are playing a 13-game schedule. They secured the bid on November 7 with a 23–21 win over Notre Dame.

Bowl Challenge Cup standings

[edit]
Conference Wins Losses Pct.
Division I FBS Independents * 1 0 1.000
MWC 4 1 .800
Big East 4 2 .667
SEC 6 4 .600
Big Ten 4 3 .571
Big 12 4 4 .500
WAC 2 2 .500
Sun Belt * 1 1 .500
ACC 3 4 .429
C-USA 2 4 .333
Pac-10 2 5 .286
MAC 1 4 .200

* Does not meet minimum game requirement of three teams needed for a conference to be eligible. (In any case, "Independent" is not a conference, rather, it is the lack of one.)

Awards and honors

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Heisman Trophy voting

[edit]

The Heisman Trophy is given to the year's most outstanding player

Player School Position 1st 2nd 3rd Total
Mark Ingram II Alabama RB 227 236 151 1,304
Toby Gerhart Stanford RB 222 225 160 1,276
Colt McCoy Texas QB 203 188 160 1,145
Ndamukong Suh Nebraska DT 161 105 122 815
Tim Tebow Florida QB 43 70 121 390
C. J. Spiller Clemson RB 26 31 83 223
Kellen Moore Boise State QB 10 20 30 100
Case Keenum Houston QB 2 9 13 37
Mardy Gilyard Cincinnati WR 2 2 13 23
Golden Tate Notre Dame WR 2 3 9 21

[23]

Other award winners

[edit]

All-Americans

[edit]

Records

[edit]
  • The Iowa Hawkeyes became the first NCAA Division I FBS team to block two field goals on consecutive plays in their season-opening win over Northern Iowa.
  • Brandon West of Western Michigan set the NCAA Division I FBS records for career all-purpose yards and career kick return yards. On November 14, West broke the record of 7,573 all-purpose yards set by DeAngelo Williams of Memphis.[26] Against Michigan State on November 7, West broke the record of 2,945 return yards set by Jessie Henderson of SMU.[27] West finished the season setting the records at 3,118 kick return yards and 7,764 total yards.[28][29]
  • Russell Wilson of North Carolina State set a new Division I record for most passes attempted without an interception, breaking the previous record of 325 set by André Woodson of Kentucky from 2006–07. Wilson broke the record in the third quarter of the Pack's 45–14 win over Gardner–Webb on September 19.[30] The streak ended at 379 on October 3 against Wake Forest. Wilson's last interception had been in the third quarter of the Wolfpack's game against Clemson on September 13, 2008.[31]
  • Texas' Colt McCoy picked up his 43rd career win as a starting quarterback, breaking the previous FBS record of 42 by Georgia's David Greene, with a 51–20 win over Kansas on November 21.[32] The record was extended to 45 with wins over Texas A&M in the regular-season finale and Nebraska in the Big 12 Championship Game. However, his streak ended at the BCS Championship when he was injured early in the first quarter, and the Longhorns lost 37-21.
  • C. J. Spiller of Clemson set a new record for career kickoff return touchdowns on the opening kickoff of the Tigers' game against archrival South Carolina on November 28. His seventh career TD return broke the previous record held by Anthony Davis of USC and Ashlan Davis of Tulsa.[33]
  • Central Michigan quarterback Dan LeFevour set a new FBS record for most combined career touchdowns passing, rushing, and receiving in the MAC Championship Game against Ohio. His two TD passes in the game gave him a career total of 148, surpassing the previous record of 147 held by Colt Brennan of Hawaiʻi and Graham Harrell of Texas Tech. In the GMAC Bowl, he passed for a TD and ran for another, ending his career with a total of 150 TDs.
  • On December 12, 2009 against rival Army, Navy quarterback Ricky Dobbs ran for his 24th rushing touchdown on the season, giving him the single-season record for most rushing touchdowns by a quarterback.[34]
  • On December 30, 2009 in the Humanitarian Bowl against Idaho, Bowling Green wide receiver Freddie Barnes broke the single-season record for receptions, accumulating 155 total receptions on the year.

Coaching changes

[edit]

Preseason

[edit]
Pre-season
Team Outgoing coach Reason Replacement
Army Stan Brock Fired Rich Ellerson
Auburn Tommy Tuberville Resigned/Retired Gene Chizik[35]
Ball State Brady Hoke[36] Hired as head coach at San Diego State Stan Parrish
Boston College Jeff Jagodzinski Fired Frank Spaziani
Bowling Green Gregg Brandon Fired Dave Clawson
Clemson Tommy Bowden Resigned Dabo Swinney
Eastern Michigan Jeff Genyk Fired Ron English[37]
Iowa State Gene Chizik Hired as head coach at Auburn Paul Rhoads[38]
Kansas State Ron Prince Fired[39] Bill Snyder[40]
Miami (OH) Shane Montgomery Resigned Mike Haywood
Mississippi State Sylvester Croom Resigned Dan Mullen
New Mexico Rocky Long Resigned Mike Locksley[41]
New Mexico State Hal Mumme Fired DeWayne Walker
Oregon Mike Bellotti Promoted to Oregon athletic director[42] Chip Kelly[42]
Purdue Joe Tiller Retired[43] Danny Hope[43]
San Diego State Chuck Long Fired Brady Hoke[36]
Syracuse Greg Robinson Fired Doug Marrone[44]
Tennessee Phillip Fulmer Resigned/fired Lane Kiffin[45]
Toledo Tom Amstutz Resigned Tim Beckman[46]
Utah State Brent Guy Fired Gary Andersen
Washington Tyrone Willingham Fired Steve Sarkisian[47]
Wyoming Joe Glenn Fired Dave Christensen[48]

Postseason

[edit]

Note:

  • All November and December dates are in 2009; all January dates are in 2010.
  • Incoming coaches who were the designated replacement for their predecessors are in bold italics.
End of season
Team Outgoing coach Date of departure Reason Replacement Date of replacement
Akron J. D. Brookhart November 28 Fired[49] Rob Ianello[50]
Buffalo Turner Gill December 12 Hired by Kansas[51] Jeff Quinn December 21 (effective January 2)
Central Michigan Butch Jones December 16 Hired by Cincinnati[52] Dan Enos
Cincinnati Brian Kelly December 10 Hired by Notre Dame[53] Butch Jones December 16 (effective January 2)[52]
East Carolina Skip Holtz January 14 Hired by South Florida Ruffin McNeil January 21
Florida State Bobby Bowden December 1
(effective January 2)
Retired[54] Jimbo Fisher[54] December 1
(effective January 2)
Kansas Mark Mangino December 3 Resigned[55] Turner Gill[51] December 12
Kentucky Rich Brooks January 4 Retired[56] Joker Phillips January 4
Louisiana-Monroe Charlie Weatherbie November 30 Fired[57] Todd Berry[58] December 16
Louisiana Tech Derek Dooley January 15 Hired by Tennessee[59] Sonny Dykes[60] January 20
Louisville Steve Kragthorpe November 28 Fired[61] Charlie Strong[62] December 9
Marshall Mark Snyder November 29 Resigned[63] Doc Holliday[64] December 17 (effective December 27)
Memphis Tommy West November 9
(effective November 27)
Fired[65] Larry Porter[66] November 29
Notre Dame Charlie Weis November 30 Fired[67] Brian Kelly[53] December 10
San Jose State Dick Tomey November 17
(effective December 5)
Retired[68] Mike MacIntyre December 17
South Florida Jim Leavitt January 8 Fired[69] Skip Holtz[70] January 14
Tennessee Lane Kiffin January 12 Hired by USC[71] Derek Dooley January 15
Texas Tech Mike Leach December 30 Fired[72] Tommy Tuberville[73] January 10
UNLV Mike Sanford November 17
(effective November 28)
Fired[74] Bobby Hauck
USC Pete Carroll January 9 Hired by Seattle Seahawks[75] Lane Kiffin January 12
Virginia Al Groh November 29 Fired[76] Mike London[77] December 7
Western Kentucky David Elson November 9
(effective December 3)
Fired[78] Willie Taggart[79] November 29
(effective December 3)

On December 26, Florida head coach Urban Meyer announced his resignation due to health concerns, effective after the Gators' Sugar Bowl appearance.[80] However, Meyer had a change of heart and announced the following day that he would instead take an indefinite leave of absence, and expected to be back coaching by the start of the 2010 season. Offensive coordinator Steve Addazio took over Meyer's duties in his absence.[81] Meyer returned from his self-imposed leave in time for Florida's 2010 spring practice.[82]

TV ratings

[edit]

Ten most watched regular season games in 2009

[edit]
  • 1. December 5 – 2009 SEC ChampionshipCBS – 1 Florida vs 2 Alabama – 17.969 million viewers
  • 2. December 5 – 2009 Big 12 ChampionshipESPN on ABC – 3 Texas vs 22 Nebraska – 12.693 million viewers
  • 3. September 12 – ESPN – 3 USC vs 8 Ohio State – 10.586 million viewers
  • 4. October 10 – CBS – 4 LSU vs 1 Florida – 10.496 million viewers
  • 5. October 17 – Red River RivalryESPN on ABC – 20 Oklahoma vs 3 Texas – 8.713 million Viewers
  • 6. September 7 – ESPN – Miami vs 18 Florida State – 8.406 million viewers
  • 7. September 12 – ESPN on ABC – 18 Notre Dame vs Michigan – 8.391 million viewers
  • 8. November 27 – Iron BowlCBS – 2 Alabama vs Auburn – 8.124 million viewers
  • 9. October 3 – ESPN on ABC Regional – 8 Oklahoma vs 17 Miami & California vs 7 USC – 7.834 million viewers
  • 10. November 28 – CBS – Florida State vs 1 Florida – 7.491 million viewers

[83]

Attendances

[edit]
# Team Games Total Average
1 Michigan 8 871,464 108,933
2 Penn State 8 856,066 107,008
3 Ohio State 7 736,830 105,261
4 Texas 6 607,049 101,175
5 Tennessee 8 793,760 99,220
6 Georgia 6 556,476 92,746
7 LSU 7 647,420 92,489
8 Alabama 7 644,084 92,012
9 Florida 7 634,446 90,635
10 Nebraska 7 601,216 85,888
11 Southern California 6 508,796 84,799
12 Oklahoma 6 508,670 84,778
13 Auburn 8 676,911 84,614
14 Notre Dame 7 565,565 80,795
15 Wisconsin 7 560,764 80,109
16 Texas A&M 7 537,602 76,800
17 Clemson 7 530,553 75,793
18 South Carolina 7 527,580 75,369
19 Michigan State 7 523,186 74,741
20 Florida State 6 446,067 74,345
21 Iowa 7 491,499 70,214
22 Kentucky 7 487,156 69,594
23 Virginia Tech 6 397,398 66,233
24 Arkansas 7 455,783 65,112
25 UCLA 6 387,283 64,547
26 Washington 7 450,491 64,356
27 BYU 6 385,416 64,236
28 Missouri 6 384,719 64,120
29 Illinois 6 357,267 59,545
30 California 6 356,830 59,472
31 Oregon 7 409,806 58,544
32 West Virginia 7 401,216 57,317
33 North Carolina 7 396,250 56,607
34 North Carolina State 8 451,377 56,422
35 Mississippi 7 390,368 55,767
36 Mississippi State 7 376,544 53,792
37 Oklahoma State 8 429,750 53,719
38 Pittsburgh 7 374,119 53,446
39 Arizona 6 315,330 52,555
40 South Florida 6 315,319 52,553
41 Georgia Tech 6 309,501 51,584
42 Minnesota 7 355,635 50,805
43 Kansas 6 303,488 50,581
44 Purdue 7 353,197 50,457
45 Texas Tech 7 351,742 50,249
46 Colorado 6 300,527 50,088
47 Rutgers 7 343,788 49,113
48 Arizona State 7 339,890 48,556
49 Virginia 7 335,902 47,986
50 Miami Hurricanes 6 285,306 47,551
51 Kansas State 6 280,579 46,763
52 Iowa State 6 277,453 46,242
53 Utah 6 270,929 45,155
54 Maryland 7 311,163 44,452
55 Oregon State 6 253,969 42,328
56 Indiana 6 250,997 41,833
57 East Carolina 7 292,191 41,742
58 Stanford 7 290,049 41,436
59 Syracuse 8 312,343 39,043
60 Connecticut 6 229,376 38,229
61 TCU 6 229,121 38,187
62 UCF 7 266,543 38,078
63 Hawaii 7 257,074 36,725
64 Baylor 6 217,837 36,306
65 Boston College 7 250,009 35,716
66 Air Force 6 213,937 35,656
67 Vanderbilt 6 210,092 35,015
68 Cincinnati 6 203,741 33,957
69 Fresno State 5 167,889 33,578
70 Boise State 7 229,472 32,782
71 Louisville 6 194,702 32,450
72 Wake Forest 7 222,537 31,791
73 Navy 6 190,366 31,728
74 Southern Miss 6 184,178 30,696
75 UTEP 6 174,058 29,010
76 Army 6 167,984 27,997
77 New Mexico 6 161,661 26,944
78 Duke 6 157,881 26,314
79 Washington State 6 155,455 25,909
80 Memphis 6 154,769 25,795
81 Houston 6 151,450 25,242
82 Tulane 6 150,884 25,147
83 San Diego State 6 146,785 24,464
84 Northwestern 7 169,332 24,190
85 Colorado State 6 141,856 23,643
86 UNLV 7 159,423 22,775
87 Tulsa 6 135,010 22,502
88 Marshall 6 133,415 22,236
89 SMU 6 128,085 21,348
90 Middle Tennessee 6 123,104 20,517
91 Western Michigan 5 101,652 20,330
92 Louisiana Tech 5 100,000 20,000
93 Central Michigan 5 98,508 19,702
94 Wyoming 6 116,963 19,494
95 Louisiana-Lafayette 6 111,998 18,666
96 Troy 5 92,066 18,413
97 North Texas 6 109,367 18,228
98 UAB 5 89,933 17,987
99 Ohio 6 107,682 17,947
100 Arkansas State 5 88,445 17,689
101 Nevada 6 104,999 17,500
102 Akron 6 104,293 17,382
103 Temple 6 104,276 17,379
104 New Mexico State 6 99,064 16,511
105 Toledo 5 81,424 16,285
106 Utah State 5 79,857 15,971
107 Buffalo 6 95,758 15,960
108 Kent State 6 93,072 15,512
109 San Jose State 6 92,062 15,344
110 FAU 5 76,630 15,326
111 Northern Illinois 6 89,335 14,889
112 Western Kentucky 6 84,616 14,103
113 Bowling Green 6 84,261 14,044
114 Louisiana-Monroe 5 69,443 13,889
115 Rice 6 81,309 13,552
116 Idaho 6 75,273 12,546
117 Miami RedHawks 5 59,052 11,810
118 Ball State 6 65,327 10,888
119 FIU 5 51,018 10,204
120 Eastern Michigan 5 25,080 5,016

Sources:[84][85]

Notes

[edit]
  1. ^ With the addition of Western Kentucky University as a full Division I FBS member in 2009, the total number of teams went from 119 to 120.

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[edit]
  • Media related to 2009 NCAA Division I FBS football season at Wikimedia Commons